The vacancy rate across the Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) slipped from 0.8% in October 2015 to 0.7% a year later, according to a Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation report released November 28.

The great microsuite debate is a hot one because cities like Vancouver and Toronto are screaming for more affordability and density.

At the same time, there are those who are asking if it’s fair to expect people to live in less than 300 square feet and pay top dollar for it. It’s obvious why developers like the microsuite: the smaller the unit and the higher the tower, the greater the returns. In a low vacancy market with high rents, it’s a no-brainer for investors to snatch up microsuites and rent them back to people at a price that makes good on their investment.

In Vancouver, online short-term lodging services like Airbnb and VRBO bring much-welcomed extra cash to homeowners trying to stay afloat in one of the most unaffordable housing markets in the world.

User reviews are overwhelmingly positive and the City of Vancouver received fewer than 10 complaints about Airbnb in 2014.

But with hosts operating without business licences and against municipal bylaws, and strangers coming and going in private buildings, some strata corporations, landlords and neighbours are looking to crack down on short-term rentals.

Owners are turning their extra bedroom, partitioned living room or entire homes into income properties, thanks to online marketplaces like Airbnb, which connect them to travellers who prefer cheaper and more personal lodgings than a hotel.